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Greece's debt woes and the instability they caused in the euro zone prompted Germany and France to work on a measure to prevent recurrences, government officials said. The plans include the creation of the European Monetary Fund, modelled on the International Monetary Fund. "I am in favour of stronger coordination of economic policies in the EU and in the euro zone," said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble as he revealed initial details of the plans.

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The euro zone's sovereign-debt crisis resulted in additional powers for the European Central Bank and the European Commission in relation to financial supervision and economic governance. The changes are raising questions about the independence of the ECB, democratic accountability and other issues. "The democratic legitimacy of all our processes of economic governance is the big question, not just of the ECB but of the euro zone," said Sylvie Goulard, a French member of the European Parliament's committee for economic and monetary affairs.

A proposal by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble to create the European Monetary Fund was greeted with support from throughout the region. The fund, to deal with monetary problems in the eurozone, would be patterned after the International Monetary Fund. EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said the European Commission is ready to support the proposal. German Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly backed the plan.

The Committee of European Securities Regulators and the Alternative Investment Management Association said that short selling is not an abusive strategy but that the reporting regime of the practice needs to be reviewed. The groups said consistent rules for short selling across the EU are needed.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "speculators" should be restricted in their use of derivatives. "Credit default swaps, where you insure your neighbour's house just to destroy it and make money from it, that's exactly what we have to curb," Merkel said. France and Luxembourg are joining Germany in the battle against CDS.

The European Monetary Fund, patterned after the International Monetary Fund, is a key part of an initiative backed by Germany and France to strengthen cooperation and surveillance of public finances across the eurozone, government officials said. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble revealed details of the plan during the weekend.